Last June, when NG completed its acquisition of Orbital ATK, the company entered into the intermediate\/heavy launch vehicle market. The OmegA rocket is being developed by NG under a joint development program with the USAF awarded last October worth $792M to support the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Officials recently announced plans to start construction of launch support facilities at Kennedy Space Center. Modifications are starting to an existing mobile launch platform, Vehicle Assembly Building, crawler-transporter, and pad 39B.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The OmegA rocket is being designed specifically to service satellite launches for national security missions, although civil and commercial missions are not excluded. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
“This rocket was not designed to go to Mars, it was not designed to go to the moon<\/em>,” said Kent Rominger, Northrop Grumman vice president. “We’re committed to national security<\/em>.” Tailoring the mission allows design choices that result in lower cost per pound to orbit. These choices include solid rocket first and second stages, which feature a more efficient launch system while sacrificing capability to throttle the engines during launch. Solid rocket boosters also allow a fully expendable solution at a lower cost-to-orbit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Key program milestones include a first stage test firing at the end of May, a second stage firing in August, and a certification flight of the intermediate variant in 2021. The OmegA schedule calls for EELV operational mission starting 2022. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"